Compaction machines are used to compact landfill sites, garbage dumps and other such locations. These machines typically include a self-propelled vehicle having four large wheels made of steel. Each wheel has a hub mounted to one end of an axle and a rim disposed around and radially out from the hub. The rim typically includes a plurality of cleats mounted thereon. One problem encountered by such machines is the accumulation of waste behind the compaction wheel. Waste materials such as steel cable, wire, rope and the like have a particularly detrimental effect. Such refuse tends to wrap around the axles of the compaction machine and become trapped between the wheel and a side wall of the compaction machine, increasing the corresponding frictional forces therebetween. Increasing the friction between the wheel and the compaction machine increases the load on the wheel propulsion system (e.g., an internal combustion engine) and reduces the life of the compaction machine. In addition, such increased frictional forces can cause the compaction wheels to wear to the point of requiring repair or even replacement of the wheels. Such wear related repairs can be very costly, and replacement wheels are very expensive.
There is a need for an improved way to prevent, or at least substantially inhibit, cable, rope, wire and other refuse and debris from wrapping around the axle of a compaction machine.